


Haven't Got Time for the Pain

by AdenNeytiriKad



Series: Final Fantasy XV One Shots [7]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: BAMF Prompto Argentum, Gen, Helpful Prompto Argentum, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm Bad At Summaries, Major Character Injury, Not Beta Read, Protective Gladiolus Amicitia, injured Ignis Scientia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2019-10-12
Packaged: 2020-12-09 13:10:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20995343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdenNeytiriKad/pseuds/AdenNeytiriKad
Summary: They'd be fine, and so would he.Sticks and stones, right?...Okay, maybe not.During a battle, Ignis finds himself in a rather precarious position stuck at the bottom of a very deep incline and unable to really help himself get back out. Cue rescue squad.





	Haven't Got Time for the Pain

**Author's Note:**

> I've had the first half written for forever and found it a few days ago. Hopefully you can't tell where I started and stopped...
> 
> Otherwise, enjoy!

“Everyone back! The edge is falling!” Gladio yelled, hoping they could hear him over the sounds of roars and clashing weapons. These coeurls had been no joke, hell, they seemed even more wild and difficult than most. That was not a good thing. Oh no. Especially when they were days away from any town, low on supplies and potions, and frankly on patience. He felt the ground beneath his feet start to crumble and slide away, causing the man to growl as he dodged a set of claws on his trajectory away from the edge. Below that edge was a steep incline, riddled with rocks, broken branches and roots, and numerous pieces of what looked like rusted metal that had the misfortune of being caught in previous landslides. “Get back damn it!”

Thankfully, Noctis had already warped away, Prompto not far behind firing of shots as he ran after his friend. Where the Six was Ignis? Gladio spit out another curse, swiping at the nearest Coeurl as it tried once more to maul him. He finally caught it on its side, cutting it along its ribs before he ducked farther back. It fell with a heave, a heated glare from the Shield as he scanned the battleground for their missing member. He finally found him, cornered by a rather large one, watching as the ground started to quake and slide beneath them. “Iggy!” Gladio’s voice cracked, a loud roar of surprise coming from the beast as the earth finally gave way, the two tumbling out of sight.

“Specs!” Noctis screamed, a horrified look crossing the usually apathetic face. Prompto grabbed him by the jacket before he could warp, gritting his teeth as he yanked him away. “Noct, no! The ground isn’t stable!”

“We have to help him! Let me go!” Noctis tried to shove him off, Gladio rolling his eyes at the prince before herding them in the opposite direction. Noct opened his mouth to argue, Gladio grabbing his shoulder. “I will help him. You will stay here. It’s not safe for you, warping or not. Stay here, stop arguing, and stop anything else that tries to get close.”

“Gladio, you’re not exactly light-”

“Hey!”

“I’ll go!” Prompto shouted, stepping between them. “I’m fast, at least faster than you two _without _warping and risking things going bad.” Gladio sighed, Noctis falling silent until he shrugged and grumbled under his breath. Prompto ignored it and moved cautiously to the edge where Ignis had disappeared, sparing one last look at the two. “Okay, I’m uh… I’m going down. If I do, you know, just look after my camera, okay? It’s in the Armiger.” He took a deep breath, carefully lowering himself over the edge, sliding down the loose earth with a quiet noise of discomfort.

Noctis tried to move a little closer, but he still had a good grip on his shoulder and steered him farther back. “We get too close, the ground only gets worse. We don’t want to bury them, best to wait.”

“But Specs-”

“Will be fine. Someone has to look after you, remember?” This earned a soft huff and silence, the younger’s arms crossing impatiently. Gladio only sighed at his behavior, anxiously peering towards the drop now and then as they listened and waited.

* * *

The incline was steep, but it thankfully didn’t take long to reach the bottom without skewering himself. But, that happiness was short lived when he stumbled on a rock and nearly fell atop the coeurl that had fallen, a long, twisted branch pierced through its chest. He cringed and carefully skirted around it, sighing as he searched for his friend.

He didn’t find any other spots of blood, which was both good and bad news. Prompto sighed, scratching his head as he glanced up towards the edge of the incline. How far could Ignis have gone? He was quick, but if he didn’t see him coming up the slope… “Come on, Igster, where are you…” He picked up his pace, peering around some of the larger boulders and metal remnants. But, he tripped over an exposed root, giving a yelp as he hit his knees. He gave a pained groan before climbing up, spotting a familiar shoe around the side of the fallen and partially buried tree. “Iggy! Oh man…”

This wasn’t good. The human leg was not supposed to look like that like ever, twisted almost cruelly so away from his body. After a quick once over, the rest of him looked unhurt save for some scratches and bruises, though the suit was definitely a mess. Prompto leaned over him and gently shook his shoulder, biting his lip. “I-Iggy? Come on, wake up… Noct’ll kill you for sleeping on the job,” he joked softly, shaking him a bit harder when he didn’t get a response.

A soft groan finally greeted the worried voice, emerald eyes slowly blinking open. “Prompto? What happened?” he whispered, coughing a bit as he tried to push himself up. That proved to be a bit of a mistake as a sharp stab of pain flew up the left side of his body, teeth grinding together as he fell back with a hiss. “Hang on! Don’t move, dude.” Prompto gently set a hand over his, squeezing, before the sound of falling dirt hit behind them. This wasn’t good at all…

“I’ll be right back, Igster, gotta grab some wood and make you a bit of a splint before we get you out of here, okay?” He dashed away before Ignis could answer or stop him, leaving the elder to let out a shaky breath and a silent curse.

He had been so careless, so stupid. And now, they were here, at the bottom of what would be a near impossible slope to climb at the risk of finally being buried alive…. Ignis forced a few deep breaths, flexing his fingers then the toes of his right foot. Nothing broken there, but his left leg… He knew something was definitely not right, and he couldn’t get himself upright to see. He heard Prompto drop beside him, sighing quietly. “I need you to relax so I can get your leg back in place, ok Igs?” Prompto gave a grim nod, moving carefully to grasp his leg. “On three. One, two-”

_Crack._

“For the love of the Six!”

“Sorry! Sorry! Didn’t want you tensing up,” he apologized, grabbing the long pieces he had collected and places them on either side of his leg. He needed something to wrap around hit all to keep him as still as possible when they started the climb up… Ignis started to wiggle out of his jacket, sweat sliding down to drip on his shirt as he pushed himself up a bit. “Igs, I can’t tear your jacket, I’m not Gladio,” Prompto murmured, huffing as he grabbed it and chucked it into the Armiger, blue light flaring to life. He gave a little cheer as he pulled out an old shirt, whether it was his own or Noct’s, they’d live. He used his teeth to start tear it to long enough strips and got to work. The sound of sliding dirt gave them another warning, and Prompto tied everything tightly and extended a hand down to him. “Shall we? Pretty sure Noct’s stroking out up there with worry.”

“I doubt that, but yes, let’s.” He gripped the blond’s hand tightly and hauled him to his feet, wobbling but using the help to hobble his way to the dirt slope and start their journey upward.

* * *

“Gladio! We’re coming!” Noctis promptly perked up, carefully nearing the edge with a worried look. “Prompto?!”

“No reason to yell, Noct, we’re fine.”

“Iggy, thought we… Well, we knew you were too stubborn for that bastard,” Gladio laughed, his shoulders slumping a bit with relief as he and Noct scanned the edge for their cue. They heard muffled whispers before a hand peeked over. “If you guys are ready to help now instead of waiting around, that’d be great,” Prompto teased breathlessly, though he gave a little yelp when he started to slide and Ignis sighing heavily. “Prompto, you must go first, I can’t hold you and move forward.”

“But if you fall-”

“Balance. I can balance for a few moments until you can help me. Now, go. The earth is shifting again.” Prompto gave a disgruntled sigh before he grabbed the waiting hands and hauled himself topside. He stumbled a few steps away, groaning as he shook out his arms and caught his breath. The other two set to work on carefully pulling Ignis up, Gladio scooping him up as carefully as he could and they bolted away, more earth falling way.

They all gave a sigh of relief before Gladio sat Ignis down, looking him over and poking at various spots until Ignis slapped his hands away. “Specs, you okay?” Noctis asked quietly, dropping to his other side. He wrapped his arm around his shoulders to help him stay seated as Gladio gently gripped his leg and felt his way down. Ignis gave a pained snort but tried to stay quiet, leather gloves creaking with the strain of his curled fists.

“We have a potion left, might as well use it, iggy. We can’t leave you hurting like this,” Gladio mumbled, reaching into his pocket before Ignis shook his head.

“We best save it for worse. If we leave now, we may be able to reach a town before nightfall. I can survive till then.”

“Spec-” A resounding no answered them, and they quickly fell silent. Gladio gave a sigh but abided, not liking it but not wanting to argue any more. “Come on, it’ll be dark soon, let’s get going back to camp and load up.”

* * *

By the time they reached the haven, Ignis’s leg had swollen significantly, the tightness of his pants not helping the pain as they finally got him settled into a camping chair. Noctis and Prompto shared an equally tired but anxious look, Gladio nudging them away with a much calmer demeanor as he dropped to his knees. “Think you can get these off, Igs? We need to take a better look.” He had already started untying the knots and sat them aside.

“I’m afraid that may be asking nigh on impossible right now,” was the only answer they got, Ignis leaning back with a deep sigh as he tried to shift and failed. Gladio nodded towards the tent, asking for some blankets and what little medical supplies they had before he pulled a small knife from the Armiger and set to work. He took Ignis’s foot and gingerly straightened his leg, cutting up the seams and pulling the cloth back as he went until he reached his thigh. He didn’t say anything as he turned to the other two again. “Can you grab some water from the car? Doesn’t matter if it’s super cold, ‘cause you’re going to freeze them, help bring down this swelling while we drive. Prom, start packing everything up.” He draped a blanket around Ignis’s shoulders, gently running his fingers through the dirt filled hair before squatting back down.

“You did good, Chocobutt. You popped everything back in line, might have a few fractures from the fall itself, but the sooner we get some more potions, the better. All the same, no major activity for you for a few days, Igs.” Ignis went to argue, quickly hushed by the blond as he ran around picking up their gear and chairs to load the trunk before getting to work on the tent. “Nope, no arguing, Igster. You deserve it anyways, and we can take care of everything until you aren’t wobbling on a leg swollen as big as Gladio’s hand.” That earned a sharp laugh from the others and the atmosphere died down from the tension fueled one to something more calm.

Noctis handed over the medical kit, the two working to wrap his leg and get him settled in the back seat. They settled the bottles around his leg, using a blanket and tying it together to keep them from rolling around too much. Gladio settled in behind him, back resting against the door with legs on either side to keep him still and making use of what little space they had. He pulled Ignis against his chest, arms loose around his waist. “Anything else hurting, Igs? If not, you might want to take the chance to nap, we’ve got this.”

Ignis gave a shallow nod, head settling against his shoulder with a sigh as his glasses were taken off. By the time everything was packed and squared away, Ignis was fast asleep, snoring quietly as the Regalia started and Prompto and Noctis turned to look at them. Gladio shot them a look, gesturing towards the road, and Noctis didn’t need to be told twice.

The next time Ignis was conscious, he was laying down, staring at a blurry ceiling as something burnt wafted around him. He sighed faintly, his glasses coming into view and he took them gratefully before he cleared his throat.

“Hey, it’s okay, I accidentally burned some of the toast, so Gladio took over. How you feeling Igster? You look a bit better. We gave you a potion after we checked in, you’ve been out since,” Prompto rambled, bouncing a bit on the bed beside him. Noctis gave a huff from the other bed, but he rolled over to face them, nose and eyes peeking out from under the blanket. He gave a happy hum before his eyes drooped shut, earning a chuckle from the two on the other bed. “We’ve got this, go back to sleep for a bit. We’ll bring you some breakfast once it’s ready!”  
  
Ignis smiled softly, taking one of his hands and squeezing it as he let his eyes close again. Fingers carded through his hair, and he started to drift again. They’d be fine, so would he. Sticks and stones right?

Not five minutes later, he was woken by a room shaking laugh, and whine coming from the other bed, followed by the thud of several pillows.

Maybe not after all.

**Author's Note:**

> I realized after the fact I should have asked my friend (who is a nurse) if this made sense.... Eh. Maybe I'll ask her later, I just wanted this posted before my mind kept yelling at me I still had something left to do.
> 
> Also, Ignis got woken up because Gladio couldn't stop laughing at Noct's ridiculous case of bed head. Now you're stuck with that image for a bit. xp
> 
> Yet another fic where I changed the whole ending while I was typing it up and editing it. Why am I like this...


End file.
